Joe Biden says US won’t lift Trump’s tariffs on China as 'timing is uncertain'

US President Joe Biden on Jan. 19 refused to lift the tariffs on Chinese imports levied by his predecessor former President Donald Trump, saying that he wants Beijing to meet the commitments of the phase-one deal that the two countries had signed two years ago. Washington can consider lifting at least some of the tariffs on hundreds of billions dollars worth of Chinese goods but at this time, said Biden, that decision remains uncertain. 

Timing Is 'Uncertain'

At a press conference on the one-year anniversary of his inauguration, Biden was asked if it was time to lift some of the tariffs on China, as the American businesses have repeatedly requested . The US President responded that his administration has been working on the issue with China but the timing is “uncertain." 

"We're not there yet," said the American leader when asked about the prospect of ending Trump-era tariffs. The former Republican leader’s new duties on $370 billion worth of Chinese industrial components, semiconductors, machinery, and materials had proven to be damaging to American manufacturing competitiveness, according to the experts. Beijing, meanwhile, had also hit the US with retaliatory tariffs on over $100 billion worth of exports.

US China trade war had riled the global economic output for the year 2020-2021 and American companies had complained that the tariffs drive up costs on key products, resulting in inflation and that the importers are critically impacted. The aluminium, electric lighting, furniture, semiconductors, and steel mills witnessed the most benefit from tariff protections. 

“I’d like to be able to be in a position where I can say they’re meeting the commitments, more than the commitments, to be able to lift something, but we’re not there yet,” Biden said at a White House press conference. He emphasised that China has not been able to fulfil promises under the ‘phase 1’ trade deal signed two years ago between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Donald Trump and was implemented on February 14 2020. Biden’s trade negotiator, Katherine Tai, has been resisting the pressure from the American businesses to lift Trump era tariffs but said that the administration has been working on the issue with China. 

US recently imposed sanctions on Chinese Biotech Firms

The Biden administration imposed new sanctions on Chinese firms in a major jolt for China and its alleged human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslim groups. According to the Joe Biden administration, several Chinese biotech and surveillance companies and government entities purchase equipment from US-based firms and then use it against the minority communities in China. According to the United States Commerce Department, it will bar US companies from selling equipment to the entities without a licence. The Commerce Department claimed the sanctions will affect China’s Academy of Military Medical Sciences and its 11 research institutes that use advanced biotechnology to suppress minorities. According to the department, these research institutes supply equipment to the Chinese military.